44 replies to this topic

[gazznewbie]

Just noticed this on Collectormania web-site click on limited Stormtroopers print

Extract from site

"All autographs will be in dark pencil which is proven to last forever and will never fade away as the carbon bonds with the paper and becomes one with the paper after around 5 years. Markers and pens will change colour or fade over many years."

so this begs the question the Autographs i have been buying today and in the past are they going to fade ?

if this is true shouldCollectormania be providing Dark Pencils to guests for Autographs and not pens ?

Sounds Rather worrying !

anyone else heard about this ?

[Dan2593]

If you keep them protected they should be fine. Autographs from Jon Pertwee a good 40 years ago are still around

And I have had this signed Tom Baker picture since 2006 when I got it at a shop. It's still standing and it was signed back in the 90's. Look after them, frame them, laminate them, plastic folder them.

One more thing, when done on canvas, something you can't really frame, either keep it safe or get this special gloss stuff to paint on top to stop the canvas loosing colour and fading.

Edited by Dan2593, 29 May 2010 - 08:33 PM.

[MemorabiliaFanatic1]

gazznewbie, on May 29 2010, 08:50 PM, said:

Just noticed this on Collectormania web-site click on limited Stormtroopers print

Extract from site

"All autographs will be in dark pencil which is proven to last forever and will never fade away as the carbon bonds with the paper and becomes one with the paper after around 5 years. Markers and pens will change colour or fade over many years."

so this begs the question the Autographs i have been buying today and in the past are they going to fade ?

if this is true shouldCollectormania be providing Dark Pencils to guests for Autographs and not pens ?

Sounds Rather worrying !

anyone else heard about this ?

This may help with your question:

Archival preservation of autographs is important for protection and maintenance.  Without proper care, autographs on paper can easily deteriorate and become valueless.  Here are some of the key points for preserving autographs.

Archival Display of Autographs
Displays that are permanent, durable, chemically inert, and preserve the content of autographs in their original form are considered archival.  A well-designed archival display for autographed material should not only enhance the presentation of your autographs, but also protect it from chemical reactions to the environment.  Traditional autograph displays are openly effective for a few years and may in time cause irreparable damage to your collection.  This article explores different ways that autograph collectors may display and protect autographed material.

Plastic Holders
A wide variety of plastics are used to display album pages, photographs, paper documents and baseball cards.  However, not all plastics are safe and many types will damage autograph collections.  Polyvinylchloride (PVC), for example, readily degrades when exposed to light and heating, resulting in emission of plasticizer by-products and harmful gasses.  This commonly used plastic will cause deterioration of photographs and paper.

As a general rule, avoid plastic materials with surface coatings, UV absorbents and plasticizers.  Polyester plastics such as Mylar "D or Melinex #516 are probably the best forms of plastic materials for storage and display because they are inert and semirigid.  Other acceptable forms of archival quality plastics include polypropylene, polyvinyl acetate and polyethylene.

Framing
The supporting board and covering mat should be made of acid-free inert material.  Ordinary cardboard should not be used in frame displays since it will emit substantial quantities of peroxides and lignan by-products that stain paper autographs.

Black mounting paper, readily available at most retail outlets for photo mounting, is highly acidic and will fade your autographed photos.  Most conservationists advocate 100% ragboard as the safest material for mounting and backboard.  This is available in a limited range of colors and textures.

Hinges and other devices used for fixation should also be composed of acid-free material.  Autographed album pages may be safely secured to a mat with Japanese rice paper and wheat or rice starch paste.  Masking tape, cellophane tape, synthetic adhesives or surgical tape, release by-products that are harmful to paper collectibles.  These products should be avoided.  Although linen tape is commonly used, this material dries out after a few years and may leave a mark on the back of paper.

A glazed front with either UV glass or plexiglass UF3 will screen out glare and harmful ultraviolet light.  UV filtering varnishes are avoidable but are not durable and will tend to bubble over time.  In large autograph frame displays, glass is impractical because of its heavy weight.  Be sure that the glazing does not come in contact with the autograph.  Condensation on the back of the glass may stain paper that is in contact with the glass.  Paper material needs space to breathe and move.

If a tight enclosure is used to press autographed paper to the glazing, it may become corrugated; a condition referred to as cockled.  In addition, moisture condensation on the interior of the glass may be transferred to adjacent paper.  An autograph recessed from the glazed surface in a mounted well is ideal. Felt tabs (bumpers) applied to the back of the frame will hold the frame away from the changing humidity encountered along the walls of the house.

Encapsulation
Encapsulation is a technique designed to protect material from environmental conditions.  Properly performed encapsulation may provide an effective means of protecting delicate documents that need to be displayed and repeatedly handled.  The material to be protected is loosely sandwiched between sheets of clear polyester or polypropylene.  The edges of plastic are then sealed with double-sided pressure-sensitive tape.

Mylar-D is commonly used for encapsulation because it is free from damaging plasticizers, surface coatings and dyes.  However, autographs done in charcoal, pastel and certain types of pencils may be lifted from the underlying paper by static electricity generated between the plastic film layers; therefore, these types of autographs should not be encapsulated.

Some conservators argue that encapsulation accelerates deterioration of certain types of paper.  This is of particular concern with highly acidic autographed material that releases chemical by-products harmful to itself.  For this reason, autographs on paper may be deacidified before encapsulation or protected from self-destruction be adding a sheet of buffered paper as a loose backing.

Most autograph collectors will agree that an autograph worth collecting is worth preserving.  The principles and practice of archival display and storage are of paramount importance to the autograph collector who aspires to gather a collection worth preserving.

I too had the same concern about preserving my autographs. I will be stocking POLYPROPYLENE photo page inserts soon!

[gazznewbie]

Thanks for info

are the plastic sleeves ok sold at the fairs the £1 each ones ? without holes for filing
if not where canyou get the ones you mention

personally i keep mine in those plasric wallets you get from WHSmiths etc
500 for £10 or so, thin plastic ones with ring binders for office paperwork if you know the type

are they ok ?

Edited by gazznewbie, 30 May 2010 - 09:19 PM.

[MemorabiliaFanatic1]

gazznewbie, on May 30 2010, 10:16 PM, said:

Thanks for info

are the plastic sleeves ok sold at the fairs the £1 each ones ? without holes for filing
if not where canyou get the ones you mention

personally i keep mine in those plasric wallets you get from WHSmiths etc
500 for £10 or so, thin plastic ones with ring binders for office paperwork if you know the type

are they ok ?

Anything made from PVC Plastic will erode your pictures/autographs.
I do not know about the plastic sleeves from the fairs....
They are never marked as archival sleeves so I don't trust them.
If anyone does know what type of plastic they are made from , please update us.
As for WH Smiths etc who sell ring binder sleeves.. they WILL erode your pictures/autographs.
Ringbinder sleeves are the most common form of PVC plastic available.

Edited by MemorabiliaFanatic1, 30 May 2010 - 09:33 PM.

[mightymax]

gazznewbie, on May 30 2010, 10:16 PM, said:

Thanks for info

are the plastic sleeves ok sold at the fairs the £1 each ones ? without holes for filing
if not where canyou get the ones you mention

personally i keep mine in those plasric wallets you get from WHSmiths etc
500 for £10 or so, thin plastic ones with ring binders for office paperwork if you know the type

are they ok ?

This question gets asked many times and considering the amount of money we spend its an understandable concern.

The ones that are sold at the shows are very good and if I remember correctly are acid free or low in acid? This doesn't eat away at the photo or the signature (this is something that happens over time not like pouring a pot of liquid acid onto something). The A4 poly pockets if I remember correctly are totally the opposite and should be used for short term only. I found this out at my own expense when a autographed photo was stuck to the pocket    I think its more noticeable with metalic pens.

I have trawled Ebay looking for them as I want to buy in bulk and I have really struggled so I always buy a few every time I goto an event. Most of autographs are stored in the the £1 pockets (the actual brand name of them escapes me at the moment) and then stored loosely in storage boxes so they are flat.




Just remembered the company that makes them are called Ultra they are an American company they do loads of stuff for baseball cards etc... and they are perfectly fine to store your signed photos

Edited by mightymax, 30 May 2010 - 09:34 PM.

[MemorabiliaFanatic1]

The sleeves I purchase is what libraries and museums use to store there documentation and such items in.
They are made of certain components that does not cause eroding of any kind.
If I do not know or am unable to find out what a sleeve is made from, then I will not trust it!
My collection  (and many other people's ) is too valuable and has sentimental value to risk on any sleeve available.

[gazznewbie]

thanks if you find the company concerned

perhaps you could post the link for everyone to see

[Queen_Sindel]

Here they are called "archive sleeves" and are produced by a company named Herlitz. Guaranteed acid free.

Not sure if this is being sold in the UK too.

[1of2]

I use the acid free archival sleeves from Arrowfile

http://www.arrowfile...asp?cat_id=REFI

[MemorabiliaFanatic1]

The prices from arrowfile are very expensive compared to what I pay.
I wouldn't be able to justify charging that kind of money in my auctions if I bought them from them.

[MinkyKnights]

MemorabiliaFanatic1, on May 30 2010, 10:31 PM, said:

As for WH Smiths etc who sell ring binder sleeves.. they WILL erode your pictures/autographs.

WHSmith does sell acid-free ring-binder pockets. They're marked 'acid-free' on the packet, below a little thumbs-up symbol.

[*LYNN*]

gazznewbie, on May 30 2010, 10:16 PM, said:

Thanks for info

are the plastic sleeves ok sold at the fairs the £1 each ones ? without holes for filing
if not where canyou get the ones you mention

personally i keep mine in those plasric wallets you get from WHSmiths etc
500 for £10 or so, thin plastic ones with ring binders for office paperwork if you know the type

are they ok ?

  ive just been through my auto's to scan them onto my lap tap ... some of them are 10 years old and they are fine in the plastic wallets :)

[MinkyKnights]

I used to use the hard plastic wallets sold at shows, but I found that gloss pictures caused all kinds of difficulties. I'd have trouble pushing them in, as they'd stick to the plastic. And once in, I'd have trouble getting them out again. I've had to cut into a couple to retrieve my pictures.

[cybernator_uk]

The ones sold for 1gbp as far as I can see are fine.

I only ever use them and I keep them all on my wall. In the 2 years I have been doing this, they still look as good as when I first got them.

However, yu generally have to leave them in thre. It is too much hasle to get ut. I found that trying to get my photos out to scan them.

[timelord81r]

bloody hell even framing or storing photos and autos is complicated, as im a newbie to cons my photos were in a plastic sleeve folder which also has like a paper insert into each sleave ive had for a while and some are on my wall in cheap glass frames. I have no idea about acidity ect, better look into it more in the coming months and get proper storage or photo albums after reading this thread.

[MICHEALS KILLER]

Yeah the best thing to keep you signitures on your posters and photos etc is UV protected glass or mesuem glass alot of framers do these typ of glass if you are willing to pay a little bit more than usual.

[Charmer]

I think you're pretty much be find keeping them in ring binders with plastic wallets. I mean, the main thing would be keeping them out of the heat and the sun I would have thought as they would be most likely to cause fading etc. I've had some for 10 years and they haven't faded one bit!

[maegurwen]

Most of mine from 4 or 5 years ago are still holding on strong and legible. I keep them in a display folder from whsmiths. Did have them origionally in the display pockets from the stalls but got worried when my chris barrie one started to fade a little.
My main worry would be my reddwarf board as the guys wrote on the outside part...so how would i keep that from fading ...

[Niallsdad]

cybernator_uk, on Jun 1 2010, 12:29 AM, said:

The ones sold for 1gbp as far as I can see are fine.

I only ever use them and I keep them all on my wall. In the 2 years I have been doing this, they still look as good as when I first got them.

However, yu generally have to leave them in thre. It is too much hasle to get ut. I found that trying to get my photos out to scan them.

Best be careful with the hard plastic autograph holders as they can cause the ink in the permanent marker to 'sweat' and stick to the inside.  Fine while they're in there but frustrating when you try to remove the images after a while and then panic as the ink starts to peel off the photograph as I've found to my cost.